


I Fought The Law

by Introvertia



Series: 13 Days of Halloween [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 13 Days of Halloween, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Billy Hargrove Lives, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Blood and Injury, Insecurity, M/M, Police Brutality, Prompt Fic, Rage, gay billy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27155974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertia/pseuds/Introvertia
Summary: Billy's anxiety gets the best of him and lands him in the Hawkins Police Department jail cell. He fears his loss of control will cost him his job, and worse still, his budding romance with Steve.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: 13 Days of Halloween [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995811
Comments: 10
Kudos: 99





	I Fought The Law

**Author's Note:**

> This short piece was inspired by the fantabulous Gothyringwald's 13 Days of Halloween prompt list.
> 
> Prompt 4: Scary Movies
> 
> This is the 4th installment of 13 fics I will be posting daily between the 19th and the 31st of October. They can be read independently or in sequence.

October 10th, 1986

**Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered**

**Part 1**

For days now, Steve and Billy had been glued at the hip. It had all started when Steve showed up at the bakery where Billy was working and announced that he’d lost his job and they’d started talking on a short walk through the woods, and like magic, things had just clicked.

Billy was in awe that it had happened so easily, it was like for once in his life he was in the right place at the right time with the right person. Whatever was happening between them felt really good, but also very fragile.

Billy’d been through hell and barely made it back. The first best thing he’d done since returning to Hawkins from the hospital was move out of Neil’s house, the second best thing was whatever was happening between him and Steve. Steve for some crazy reason was really into him. It was truly bizarre to Billy. The worst part was, it felt amazing, Steve was better than any drug Billy had ever tried. Billy worried Steve would wake up one day and remember that he, Billy Hargrove, was an asshole, the town pariah and poor as dirt… and just walk away.

Just two days earlier they’d told each other that they ‘liked’ one another. Just thinking about that made Billy’s stomach flop around like a trout on dry land.

“Hey Billy? The timer? Get the oven!” Marvin Donahue, Billy’s boss had one hand cupped over the mouthpiece of the phone.

“Yes, sir.” Billy said.

Billy grabbed the peel off the wall and started taking out the hot sourdough loaves one after the other, and sliding them on to cooling racks in neat rows. Once he’d finished removing the sourdough loaves it was time to lower the temp and put in the spice loafs, those ones were easier to handle in their pans, he felt like he’d gotten to be pretty good at his job. Usually Marvin didn’t have to say anything to him, after the first three weeks, they worked in almost total silence, Billy liked that and it seemed to suit Marvin as well.

Billy checked the time on the clock hanging above the sink, it was about time for his last break of the day. He paced by the ovens double checking the temps and resetting the timers. He was feeling wound up tight like a spring, he told himself he didn’t have time for some bullshit anxiety attack. He tried to think of what his therapist used to recommend when he got like this, but he was coming up blank.

“Mr Donahue?” Billy said.

“Yeah?” Marvin looked up from his large mixing vat where he was dropping in measured portions of spices.

“May I take my ten?”

“Take a fifteen, Billy.” Marvin said in his gravely voice.

“Thanks.”

Billy had been sleeping, ever since Steve had turned up, so he felt like he should be even better at his job, being better rested meant easier focus, but these last couple days he’d spaced out multiple times just daydreaming about Steve. He hoped a break and some caffeine might help. Billy grabbed a coke out of the cooler and stepped out the back door. He sat on the loading dock and stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit up, after a couple heavy drags off his cigarette he cracked open the soda can and took a long drink.

“Fuck.” Billy’s heart was skittering around his chest like it had become unmoored, he laughed, but it was mirthless, more of a nervous choking sound. He took a long drag on his cigarette. He hopped off the loading dock and walked across the parking lot. He paced smoking and taking sips from his soda can. He watched his shadow in the weak October sunlight trail him on the ground.

His heart was racing, he walked up the alley to the main street and then turned around, trying to burn off whatever it was he was feeling. He recalled what his therapist had told him to remember when he got like this: no one was out to get him, he was safe, he was a survivor. He knew Dr Owens would tell him caffeine and nicotine were always a bad idea, but Billy stubbornly continued smoking his cigarette and sipping his soda.

“What the hell does he know?” Billy mumbled.He sincerely doubted his therapist had ever had an anxiety attack, the man exuded an inhuman amount of calm. Billy gripped the soda can tightly, bending it out of shape and sloshing out some of the soda. He didn’t notice the police vehicle moving slowly down the alley till a stone made a popping sound from underneath the tire treads.

  
Billy looked over and saw some skinny cop in glasses giving him the once over. “What the fuck are you looking at?” Billy sneered. He recognized the cop, he knew all of them. He’d made his presence know with the local law enforcement within the first six weeks of arriving in Hawkins. Callahan was a scrawny, pasty, be-speckled milquetoast looking guy.

“Billy Hargrove, haven’t seen you since last summer. I thought you’d… moved out of Hawkins.” Callahan looked at him unsmiling.

“No such luck.”

“What are you doing back here, behind the shops?”

Billy gestured to his apron, “I’m on a break, hope that’s okay with you.” Billy dropped his cigarette and crushed it with the toe of his boot.

“That’s littering.” Callahan said.

“Yeah? So what’s this then?” Billy chucked his half empty can of soda at the windshield it made an impressive sound and even more impressive splatter across the front of the police cruiser.

“Alright.” Callahan said and opened his door to get out only to have Billy kick it shut. “Step away from the vehicle!” Callahan’s face turned red, it reminded Billy of his father. “That’s two misdemeanors Billy!” Callahan shouted.

“Oh no.” Billy said sarcastically. “What am I gonna do? No! What are you gonna do about it, you fuckin’ hick pig!” Billy could hear himself screaming, he felt like he’d stepped out of his body, like he was witnessing himself perform on a stage.

Callahan got out of his car successfully this time because Billy had taken a step back, his fists were clenched, his jaw grinding.

“I could arrest you for disorderly conduct.” Callahan took a step towards Billy.

“Try it.” Billy glowered, itching for a fight.

**Jailbird Blues**

**Part 2**

Billy sat on a narrow steel bench in the Hawkins Police Department jail cell. It was small, he was glad to be the sole occupant. He had gauze stuffed up his nose and an egg sized welt on the side of his head. He was pretty sure he’d broken Callahan’s nose and certain that he’d broken his glasses. Then Callahan had managed to get out his baton and subdue Billy with one good crack to left temple. Billy wasn’t even sure when he’d been hit in the nose, might have been when Callahan had put him face down on the hood of the police car.

This was the first time Billy had been arrested as an adult and the first time he’d assaulted a cop. It wasn’t as satisfying as he’d hoped. Just like the time he’d gotten in a fight with Steve, it wasn’t really Steve who he’d wanted to fight, Callahan had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Billy chuckled darkly to himself. The more he understood himself the less he made sense. He laughed again louder and longer shaking his head. His laughter seemed to bounce off the cement mint green walls and get thrown back in his face. Billy heard the sound of foot steps coming along the cement hallway, he looked up and saw Officer Powell walking over.

“What’s so funny?” Officer Powell stood outside the door of Billy’s cell, he had a mug of coffee in one hand and the other rested on his belt.

“Nothing, Officer Powell, not one fucking thing.” Billy shook his head.

“That’s right, so keep it down.” Officer Powell gave him a long world weary look. His keen dark eyes had a gravity to them that made Billy uncomfortable.

“Yes sir.” Billy said looking down at his hands.

Officer Powell disappeared up the hall, once he was out of sight Billy let out another soft laugh. His head hurt, and his eyes were watering, or maybe he was just crying, he couldn’t be sure. Billy wondered how long he’d been sitting there and if he’d lost his job. It was a small town and Gossip spread like wildfire, there was no way in hell that the Donahue’s hadn’t heard he’d been arrested for assaulting a police officer.

Billy looked up at the ceiling, in a single afternoon he’d managed to lose his job, and Steve would now have proof that he was the same chaotic asshole that he’d been when he’d first arrived in Hawkins. Not for the first time he wondered why he’d come back from the dead.

“Alright Billy, you’ve made bail.” Officer Powell said as he approached the cell.  
  
“What?” Billy looked up confused.

“I said you made bail, now get out of my cell,” Officer Powell unlocked the cell door and dropped Billy’s possessions that had been bagged on the bench next to him. “Just get your boots on and get the hell out of here, I do not want to see you in here again.”

Billy grabbed his boots and stepped into them quickly, and picked up the bag of his stuff. “Do I need to sign anything, can I leave?” 

Officer Powell let out a long sigh, “I don’t know _who_ you know, or why you know _them_ , and frankly I do not give a damn. You walk right outta here, do not stop till you’re on the sidewalk, and from there I don’t care where you go. If I find you taking up space in my jail cell again, it’s not gonna be this easy, I’ll make sure of it. Don’t make me be that cop, alright, son?”

Billy tightened his jaw, which just made his head hurt worse. He nodded once and walked out of the cell, he kept his eyes on the floor until he was outside and down the steps. It was late, near dusk. The sky was coppery and the clouds were moving in grey and fat. He walked across the street and stepped into a payphone booth. He called the bakery. He heard Marvin’s rough voice answer the phone.

“Bountiful Bakery, how may I help you today?”

“Hi, uh, Mr Donahue?”

“Billy, they let you out of the clink already?”

“You heard?”Billy opened the bag they’d put his things in and pulled out his ball cap, not sure what he should say, he knew he shouldn’t be surprised. “I missed the last couple hours of my shift,”

“My boy went to school with Callahan, he always hated him.”

Billy fell silent, he didn’t know Marvin and Sandy had a son.

“Well, I can’t pay you for the hours you weren’t here, but I expect to see you tomorrow. Unless you’re not up for it.”

“No sir.” Billy said quickly, “I’ll be there.”

“Alright, see you then.”

Billy heard the line go dead. He hung up the phone and rested his head on the glass of the phone booth, his nose hurt and he was already sick of breathing through his mouth and his eyes were still watering. He had no idea how he’d made bail, but he was starting to wonder if word had gotten back to his therapist, or some other government employees that were interested in keeping him under the radar and very clear of the media. Billy had signed mountains ofnon-disclosure documents, all of them marked with government seals.

Billy stepped out of the phone booth and pulled on his hoodie and his denim jacket over that, he adjusted his cap the lump on his forehead stung and ached, but he pulled down the cap tighter. Billy glanced back at the police station and saw Steve walking out looking up and down the street. Billy made a sharp turn and walked up to the ticket booth at the front of the Hawk Movie Theater.

“One.” Billy said, his eyes on the counter.

“for the matinee of the Birds? It started at five, or do you want to buy a ticket for the eight thirty showing of Psycho?”

Billy glanced at the woman behind the glass and, “The Birds.”

“Four dollars please.” The woman said with a smile.

Billy dug in the bag found his billfold and grabbed a five dollar bill he shoved it under the glass.

“Alright your change is one dollar and here’s your ticket and a flier of our Halloween film festival showtimes, this week is Alfred Hitchcock.”

“Thanks.” Billy muttered taking the flier and the ticket.

“Are you okay? That looks painful.” The woman tapped her own nose.

“You should see the other guy.” Billy said.

Billy walked across the lobby and into the theater, he sat down heavily in the back row. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He could taste blood at the back of his throat and his knuckles were starting to ache. He shoved them in his mouth, he tasted more blood, he hadn’t realized he’d split them when he’d punched Callahan. He sucked on his knuckles and then rubbed them against his jacket. He thought about going outside again, he didn’t know why he’d ran from Steve.

Billy worried Steve was angry with him or worse, disappointed in him. Billy dug his boot heels onto the tacky theater floor. He felt a huge weight a guilt, not for getting in a fight with Callahan, but for avoiding Steve. Steve would never do that to him, he didn’t know how he knew it but he did. Steve was just better than him.

**For The Birds**

**Part 3**

The theater doors swung open, Billy glanced over half afraid and half hoping that it was Steve walking through the doors, but it was just some guy. Billy turned his head towards the screen and ran his hands over his face. The sound of crows cawing and the shrieking of women in the film were making his head pound.

“What are you doing in here?”

Billy flinched dropping his hands, Steve was sitting next to him. “When did you get here?”

“Shh!” Someone in the audience shushed them.

“Just now, I’ve been looking for you.” Steve said in a rushed whisper, as he reached over and squeezed Billy’s shoulder.

“Why?” Billy’s eye were damp, he rubbed them roughly, turning away from Steve.

“Why?! Because, I went by the shop and Marvin said one of his customers saw you get hit with a night stick and hauled off to jail!” Steve saw Billy’s eyes glistening, reflecting the light from the screen.

“I got released.” Billy felt his throat constrict, he was exhausted and rattled and it wasn’t as overwhelming as the fury he’d felt earlier, but it was somehow more terrible.

“Yeah I know. I was just there.” Steve sounded exasperated, and then took hold of Billy’s hand and squeezed it. “Let’s get out of here.” Steve stood up and pulled Billy out of the chair by his hand and led him out into the lobby.

“I have my car today,” Steve released Billy’s hand in the light of the lobby and turned to look at him. “Jesus.” Steve said, he reached up and lifted the brim of Billy’s cap to get a better look at the welt on his forehead.

Billy turned away, and regretted it immediately. The sharp movement combined with the bright lights of the lobby made his head spin and his heart rabbited unpleasantly in his chest. He felt like he was falling, and then he was falling sideways, he felt Steve grab hold of him.

Steve stood in the center of the lobby with Billy dipped sideways in his arms as if they’d just tangoed to the concession stand. “Whoa, whoa Billy! Come on, let’s just okay, here I want you to sit on this bench right here. I’m going to go down the street and get my car, I left it by the police station. Can you sit here and wait, just like four minutes?”

“I just need food, I think.” Billy muttered, he tilted his head back and propped it against the wall. He looked up at the poster above him, a rather smug looking Eddie Murphy was smiling down at him, “The Gold-en Child?” Billy read aloud slowly.

“We’ll be back and see when it comes out.” Steve said glancing at the ‘coming soon’ poster, “Stay here, okay? Man you look, terrible. I can’t believe they just let you walk out, they should have called a doctor.”

The next thing Billy knew Steve was dashing out of the theater on his long legs like a gazelle. “There he goes, run Bambi.” Billy shut his eyes, he wondered if they had called a doctor, if his doctor had shown up at the police station, but just been a little too late. Billy smirked to himself, he barked out a laugh and covered his mouth. He closed his eyes, everything was too bright and too loud.

“Okay, up you go.” Billy blinked, he hadn’t even realized Steve had returned. Billy lurched forward feeling dizzy, he felt Steve’s hand on his lower back gently propelling him out of the theater. By the time Billy was seated in Steve’s car he was certain he had a concussion. He grabbed the rearview mirror and leaned forward looking at it trying to see if his pupils were mismatched, but his vision was a little fuzzy.

“Hey, Harrington, look into my eyes.”

Steve had just placed his key in the ignition, he tilted the rearview mirror back to its home position, and turned looking at Billy. “Hold on a sec.” Steve said, he dug his zippo out of his hip pocket and flipped it open and sparked a flame to life. “Oh, okay your eyes are pretty glazed and… yeah, your pupils do not match. Not even a little bit.”

“Thought so.” Billy sank back into his seat feeling awful. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, thinking he might black out.

“I think you’re supposed to stay awake.” Steve said seeing that Billy had closed his eyes. “Hey, Billy. Stay awake. Okay?”

“Why?” Billy grumbled as he plucked bloody gauze out of his nostrils.

“You have a head injury.” Steve pulled over. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go to sleep.”

Steve rushed through the door of Melvald’s and went to the aisle stocked with medical supplies. He grabbed some Tylenol, and band-aids, and gauze, and rubbing alcohol, as well as some hydrogen-peroxide as well as some fancy looking soap, and then rushed over to the counter and dumped everything on it.

The cashier started punching all the items in. Steve glanced out the front window of the shop at his parked car. He couldn’t quite see Billy. He hoped he wasn’t sleeping.

“Do you need anything else, we’re having a sale on Coca-cola drinks, and halloween trick-or-treat mixed candy bags, just the Hershey brand though, not the Brach’s.”

Oh, um. Okay, hold on. Steve ran and grabbed a six pack of Cherry Coke, and a bag of Hershey’s trick-or-treat sized candies and threw them on the counter. There was a cardboard stand of videos for kids, Steve smiled and grabbed one and set it atop of the candy.

When Steve got back to the car Billy was asleep. His head was tilted back his black eyelashes fanned, his nose was swollen and crusted with dried blood, his full lips parted. Steve sighed, he wanted to kiss Billy awake, but instead, he punched him in the shoulder.

“Ow! What?!” Billy sat up, his eyes seemed to swim around for a little too long before they focused on Steve.

“I said stay awake.” Steve started the car headed to Billy’s apartment.

**A Very Scary Movie**

**Part 4**

Billy sat on his couch, his head ached, but more than that he he just wanted to go to sleep. He had to get up early to be at work on time. He felt lucky that Marvin hadn’t told him not to come back. Steve set his brown paper-bag from Melvald’s on the coffee table, “Okay, I’m going to get some ice. Can you put the tape on?” Steve hoped giving Billy a simple task would keep him awake.

Billy sat forward and looked down at the VHS box, he held it up squinting at it, “You bought The Secret of NIMH?”

“Yeah, it’s a very scary movie.” Steve said walking over from the kitchen.

Steve squinted at Billy who was swaying a little bit. “Okay,” Steve said gently as he placed one hand on Billy’s shoulder and gently pushed him back till he was leaning against the backrest.

“Don’t push me around.” Billy said grumpily giving no resistance.

“I’m not pushing you around, I just need you to relax a little,” Steve carefully set a homemade ice-pack on Billy’s goose-egg sized bump. “Hold that there.” Steve snatched the tape from Billy’s fingers. Steve ripped off the plastic-wrap and popped it open with gusto and fed the tape into the VCR, “I’ll have you know this is a great film, and it’s perfect for Halloween, it’s spooky and there’s a crow, or is he a raven? There’s an owl too, talk about scary, the farm cat, terrifying, we’re going to watch it right now.”

Billy snorted, “It’s a kids’ film.”

“Yes, but it was created by adults, based on a novel, a best selling novel.” Steve shook his head, as he cracked open a Cherry Coke.

“About mice.” Billy released a small genuine laugh.

Steve smirked, twisting open a bottle of Tylenol, relieved to hear Billy laugh.

“Here, down the hatch.” Steve dropped a pair of tablets in Billy’s hand.

Billy popped the pills in his mouth and swallowed them down with a mouthful of fizzy cold soda. Steve planted himself right next to Billy and opened the bag of candy he’d bought and poked around inside of it. Billy sighed, and adjusted the ice against his head, it was a little uncomfortable and already starting to drip.

Steve unwrapped a small Snicker bar and ate it, his eyes on Billy. Steve felt like he’d been on the verge of a heart-attack since the moment Marvin told him Billy had been arrested. Then when Steve had gotten to the police station not only had Billy already been released, but no one seemed to cared where he’d gone.

Steve had rushed out of the police station and spotted someone going into the theater that was about the same build as Billy. It didn’t make sense to Steve that Billy would be going to see a movie but Steve had trusted his gut and bought a ticket and gone in only to find Billy sitting alone in the back row with his hands over his face. Just seeing him sitting in the dark looking like lost and frightened little kid had broken Steve’s heart.

Billy reached over and grabbed the remote, he turned down the volume on the TV.

“Is the sound bugging you?” Steve asked, keeping his voice low.

“This is good.” Billy said.

Steve didn’t know if Billy meant the movie or the volume. What mattered though, he told himself, was that Billy was safe. Steve figured after the ice he’d clean Billy’s cuts and check his bruises, and then maybe let him take a short nap, maybe… Steve didn’t have too many experiences with concussions that weren’t his own.

By the time the credits were rolling Billy was burrowed down and nestled into Steve’s chest, he was awake but very still. Steve slid out from under him sat down across from him on the edge of the coffee table to clean his cuts and scrapes.

Billy blinked slowly feeling the cool stinging dabs of antiseptic.“I almost fell asleep.” Billy said softly, as he watched Steve fussing over him.

“Me too.” Steve replied quietly.

“Thanks,” Billy mumbled. “Thanks for getting me, and not being shitty about what happened.”

“You got clubbed by that asshole cop Callahan. I don’t know what you said or did, but I think everyone has wanted to punch his face in at one point or another.” Steve spoke softly, he picked up a bandaid and peeled off its wrapper. “Actually Jonathan did punch him once, but I was the intended target.” Steve smiled in recollection, “That was stupid.”

“I started it.” Billy confessed.

“I don’t care, he could have cracked your skull. Just, you know, don’t start anymore fights. I know you usually finish them,” Steve paused, “I don’t like seeing you hurt.” Steve’s voice dropped lower.

“How come?” Billy asked, just wanting to hear Steve’s voice.

“Because,” Steve gently applied a bandaid over a small split of skin near Billy’s welt that had diminished a bit, “I like you.”

“You sure about that? Sometimes my life can be a horror show. Even before all that shit that went down, and now the government is keeping tabs on me.” Billy poked Steve in the tummy roughly, he smirked watching Steve twitch.

“Ow.” Steve took hold of Billy’s hand, “Your knuckles are split.”

Steve kissed Billy’s knuckles, and then glanced up at Billy with a soft eyed expression, “I better clean these up. You know, you’re not the only one whose life is a horror show, and the goons that ran the lab were following me and Nancy around, and then her and Jonathan, for a long time, but it doesn’t matter, not really, forget about them… and yeah, I’m sure.”

Billy watched as Steve wrapped his knuckles after cleaning them. He still didn’t feel like he deserved someone like Steve, but he didn’t feel like Steve was going to vanish on him.

“Stay tonight?” Billy asked his voice low.

“I was planning on it.” Steve settled into the lumpy couch and slipped his arm around Billy’s waist, he wanted to stay every night forever, but he didn’t say as much, he didn’t want to freak Billy out.

“How bad do I look?” Billy muttered the question, he was running his fingers gently over his bruised temple.

Steve tilted his head, looking at Billy. The lump at his temple was turning purple, his nose was swollen, and he had crusted blood in his nostrils, his eyes were watery and looked small beneath his puffy eye-lids.

“You look like…” Steve closed one eye squinting at him, “I wanna say a Picasso painting, but like if it had sex with a Jackson Pollack piece.”

Billy nodded, “Not bad.”

“Not bad at all.” Steve kissed him gently on the lips, “Pretty damn good, actually.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, questions and comments are always welcomed and appreciated!


End file.
